Management company The Only Agency has opened a London office to expand its presence from New York and L.A. to Europe. The agency, which represents hairstylists, makeup artists and fashion stylists, has a roster that includes Law Roach, Maeve Reilly, Erica Cloud, Cristina Ehrlich, B Akerlund, Fabio Immediato, Joey Maalouf and more.
“Working with such a vast group of celebrity talent and visionaries, The Only Agency has always had an international presence. Thus, it was only a matter of time that we established a global home base for our talent and expanded our brand internationally,” said founder Kent Belden. “When deciding where this expansion would take place, London immediately came to mind as one of the top fashion and media hubs of Europe. In addition to London being an incubator to some of the most inspiring talent in the world, the combination of London’s proximity/accessibility to the crux of the European market, it’s lively energy, and creative nature, made opening an office there the logical next step.”
The office has four full-time team members, and talent is already working with celebrities including Maisie Williams and the Spice Girls.
“To navigate that complex intersection where two industries, fashion and entertainment, cross over takes acumen,

LONDON — Ahead of the summer holidays, hundreds of London College of Fashion students paraded styles ranging from the deconstructed and apocalyptic to the folkloric in the school’s largest graduate showcase yet.
Some 431 students from BA and Diploma courses presented their designs in a show space next to LCF’s new East London campus, which will open in 2022. The new site, East Bank, will join the college’s six locations under one roof.
On Thursday night, 58 students presented pieces from their graduate collections.
BA Women’s wear fashion design technology graduate Qianyu Li showed her talent for fabric manipulation. Periwinkle blue and lilac colored dresses were folded, gathered and cut into shapes resembling origami.
Graduate YY Ang from BA Fashion Textiles Embroidery focused instead on textures. Multicolored dresses were highlighted with long fringing and frayed denim patches were sewn on top of tightly woven fabric.
On Friday, every student in the graduating class was able to show one or two looks. Given the sheer volume of exits, the presentation was chaotic.
Friday afternoon’s designs included parachute dresses and many collections featured sustainable latex — and body harnesses.
Anushka Patel from BA Fashion Textiles Embroidery showed off her technicolor draping, followed by Juo-yu Wang from Graduate Diploma Fashion Design Technology with a folkloric

Entertainment industry royalty rubbed shoulders with the real thing at “The Lion King” premiere in London on Sunday evening. Meghan Markle, the duchess of Sussex, and her husband, Prince Harry, walked the yellow carpet at the Leicester Square premiere, as did a starry lineup from the U.S. and U.K. Among the many stars in attendance […]

EVEN MORE DIOR: Dior is having trouble saying farewell to London — and vice-versa.
Not only has the Victoria & Albert Museum extended the run of the “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” exhibition to Sept. 1 from the original closing date of July 14, the brand is staging an encore at Harrods, with a pop-up set to run for the month of August.
This year’s pop-up will run from Aug. 3 to Aug. 31 and showcase Maria Grazia Chiuri’s fall 2019 ready-to-wear collection, with the decor reprising the colors and inspirations of the show. It will be done in variations of black with green, red or white checks, and is meant to nod to British culture and the ties the house of Dior has long cultivated with England.
A telephone booth and an English taxi cab will be decorated in similar motifs.
The pop-up will sell a selection of ready-to-wear, footwear and bags, including the Dior Book Tote. Available in leather, checks or the Dior Oblique jacquard, the tote will also come in a Union Jack motif, exclusive to Harrods.
Woven bracelets, D-Connect sneakers and the bob hat created by Stephen Jones have all been reinterpreted in new green versions. The TravelDior line has been done in Dior Oblique canvas, and there is

LONDON — The light men’s wear schedule for spring gave retailers a chance to deep-dive into emerging trends and give emerging talent a chance to shine. Craig Green, Stefan Cooke and Martine Rose were among the darlings of the three-day showcase, with retailers lauding their bold designs and strong aesthetic.
“Craig Green’s collection was a glorious, uplifting, colorful expansion on a signature style that he has really defined,” said Bruce Pask, men’s wear fashion director of Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, who also talked about the increasing influence of tailoring on the London runways.
Simon Longland, general merchandise manager for men’s wear and sports at Harrods, also noted the new focus on tailored looks. “There were celebrations of modern tailoring at its finest, generously cut and in a sleek style. This was a key feature that ran through several shows,” he said.
Here, retailers talk about some of the London highlights.

LONDON — Stefan Cooke and Jake Burt, cofounders of the label Stefan Cooke and finalists for the LVMH Prize, are about to stage their first solo runway show on June 9 during London Men’s Fashion Week, and they’re feeling the heat. “It feels surreal to be doing it by ourselves. It also feels intimidating,” said Cooke, who has witnessed a shower of accolades over the past two years.
The brand has won the H&M Design Award and the L’Oréal Professional Creative Award, but Cooke and Burt will now have to wait until September to see if they’ve scooped the LVMH Prize.
Having shown under the Fashion East umbrella, the duo have moved on from conceptual to more commercially focused designs. The label is stocked at Machine-A, Dover Street Market and Matchesfashion.com.
Their lines for spring/summer 2020 have a more relaxed silhouette than in past seasons, where trousers and shirts were tight and cropped. They will also be introducing a new bag concept, a category that’s been performing well for the company.
As they build the brand, they’ve been asking themselves some difficult questions, such as: “How do you take all of the things that are Stefan Cooke, like textile manipulations, and turn them into

HIGH SHINE: Istanbul-based label In the Mood for Love is turning its attention to the London market.
The two-year-old brand, best known for its exuberant sequined creations sold at contemporary price points, quickly built a presence across key European retailers including Printemps in Paris, Tsum in Moscow and La Rinascente in Italy and now sees an opportunity to continue its growth trajectory in the U.K. market.
To introduce itself to the market, the label has tapped the London-based influencer Soraya Bakhtiar. Bakhtiar, who said she was drawn to the maximalist nature of the brand, brought together a group of fellow influencers and London-based designers to celebrate the label, hosting a dinner at Blakes Hotel, which came complete with sequined place mats and pink sparkly scrunchies used as napkin rings.
Guests included handbag designers Tara Ghazanfar and Gunes Mutlu; personal shopper and influencer Bettina Looney; jeweler Anissa Kermiche and author Katherine Ormerod, who all came dressed in sparkly creations and trendy padded headbands to match.

Bettina Looney and Soraya Bakhtiar
Courtesy Photo

The event was followed by a trunk show at the Connaught hotel.
“We wanted to work with a girl who’s just like us, Middle Eastern but also a big traveler and with an international outlook, so

FASHION ROUNDS: Husband-and-wife actors Damian Lewis and Helen McCrory kicked off their week in style, attending a range of fashion shows on Monday, including Erdem, Roksanda and Christopher Kane. “I love the glamour and the theater of it: These shows are like 15-minute or five-minute plays,” said McCrory, who said she sees fashion as “a great, big, theatrical dress-up box.”
McCrory, who plays Aunt Polly in the British TV show “Peaky Blinders,” about gangsters in post World War One England, said she also wanted to cheer on her pals Erdem Moralioglu and Roksanda Ilincic. I go to see and support their work just like they would come and see me in a play or film. We support each others as artists in London.”
Having just wrapped up series five of “Peaky Blinders,” the British actress has had her hands full with Tom Rob Smith’s new BBC drama “MotherFatherSon,” in which she will star alongside Richard Gere, Billy Howle and Pippa Bennett-Warner.
Lewis, meanwhile, is working on the new season of “Billions,” reprising his act as the ambitious billionaire Bobby Axelrod and playing alongside Paul Giamatti. That said, there’s one role he can’t see himself taking on in the future: Fashion designer. “People have seen my sense

NATURAL WOMAN: The zero-waste concept label Vin and Omi served up a green cocktail of a collection this seasonal. Dresses at the fashion show were made from organic nettle, cow parsley and linen fabric from the English Cotswolds, while olive green and mandarin latex fabrics were sourced from the brand’s plantation in Malaysia.
Chunky knitwear was fashioned from “combed-off” alpaca wool that had been donated from Vin and Omi’s friends, while Jodie Kidd returned to the runway after 10 years, opening the show in a floral-print dress.
Other garments were made from recycled plastic bottles while the fish-shaped bags came from old vinyl film posters, part of a long-term strategic partnership with the outdoor media owner Ocean Outdoor. Those vinyl pieces will eventually be developed into a retail line, with sales and profits to be donated to the Marine Conservation Trust.
Vin and Omi also got their green fingers on the models’ makeup: Decorative plasters on the models’ faces were made from bamboo fiber while metal foil flowers on the hats and jackets came from cans that had been collected by the homeless in Birmingham, England. The design duo also showed off a biodegradable perfume holder that was designed for Floral Street, the eco-friendly fragrance label that partnered

COMING HOME: Deborah Lyons loves keeping her audience entertained.
For the debut of her new fall 2019 collection, she took over London’s Burlington Arcade on the eve of London Fashion Week — which also happened to be Valentine’s Day — dressed it up with myriad red roses and invited guests and their loved ones for a jazz night.
There were drinks, chocolate treats and a live jazz performance, with the band and singers sporting Lyons’ new fall 2019 pieces, which channeled a tougher, more confident mood, with a darker color palette and a strong focus on the brand’s signature silhouettes.
Some of the highlights included plaid tailored blazers and matching slim pants, body-hugging jumpsuits and a dramatic maxidress appliquéd with red roses all over.
This was the first time Lyons showed on home turf, after taking her show on the road and hosting her debut presentation aboard a Eurostar carriage last September.
“We wanted to do something more intimate and local this time, that brought together our immediate community. Also it’s a nice way to lead into London Fashion Week,” Lyons said.
Her aim with choosing off-schedule slots and alternative presentation formats remains the same: Cutting through the fashion week noise and getting the right audience

NEW ROMANTIC: The handbag market has been bursting with newness in the contemporary space as of late, with accessibly priced labels cropping up one after the other and grasping for the attention of the Instagram generation.
But there’s still space for a slower, more luxurious approach, according to Taiwanese designer Grace Han, who debuted her eponymous label this month with a focus on craftsmanship and the in-store experience.
The label launched to the market with the opening of a London flagship boutique in Knightsbridge’s Beauchamp place, a stone’s throw away from Harrods.
The aim was to introduce itself to the market in an environment that reflects the new label’s ethos and allows Han to have full control of the experience.
“I wanted to create a warm environment that feels almost like a home when you come in. It’s key to create this type of atmosphere and show the journey of the brand — it was a process that took place over eight years,” said Han, who spent the last few years training and working with artisans in Taiwan to develop and perfect the brand’s now-signature leather pleating technique.

LONDON — The first weekend in January is never an easy one, but London has the antidote, with a lineup of streetwear and luxury stores and restaurants serving everything from classic British to Taiwanese food, all of which will be open during London Fashion Week Men’s.

London store End.
Peter Cook

END OF THE LINE: British property group Shaftesbury has expanded its retail portfolio, opening the first London outpost for the online men’s wear store, End. Occupying 9,000 square feet on the corner of Broadwick and Marshall Streets, the two-story glass-fronted space offers a range of collections from labels including Off-White, Gosha Rubchinskiy, Nike and Adidas Consortiums. The store, which already has units in Newcastle, England, and Glasgow, Scotland, features modern furnishings such as marble staircases and glass showcases.
End is part of a strategy by Shaftesbury to position Soho as a go-to destination for emerging brands. The company has been offering reasonable rents in the neighborhood, which is a few minutes’ walk from Oxford and Regent Streets. Shaftesbury has also helped to install Supreme, Palace, Carhartt and Dukes Cupboard, a multibrand retailer, in the neighborhood. Samantha Bain-Mollison, head of retail at Shaftesbury, has been driving the strategy. She describes End as “influential, with a renowned selection of directional and globally sourced men’s wear.” — Hannah Connolly
End
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NORDIC NOOK: London’s Soho district is getting its own small slice of Scandinavia, with a Danish fashion retailer and Swedish eyewear seller touching town near Golden Square in the spring.
Danish contemporary fashion brand Ganni, which is majority owned by L Catterton, will open a 2,750-square-foot store at 36 Beak Street. Harper Dennis Hobbs advised Ganni on the deal. And Sweden’s Viu Eyewear, which allows customers to take up to four frames home to test them, plans to open at 5-6 Upper James Street. That store will span 850 square feet.
Both sites will be a cinnamon bun’s throw from The Nordic Bakery, the Soho institution that serves up sweet and savory dishes from the region. A concept restaurant called Folly will open nearby over the summer, but that will have a French, rather than a Scandi, angle. Behind the venture are Guillaume Depoix and Thierry Costes of the Parisian hospitality family.
The two shops and the restaurant will move into a site that is still under construction, according to Matt Paulson at Levy Real Estate, which advised the landlord Titan Investments. He added that high-end residences will be built on the upper floors of the site.
London’s Soho is buzzing with real estate activity.

Alice Temperley has been rethinking her business structure and embracing change — the ultimate aim being to sharpen her focus and offer smaller, but better-targeted collections.
Her latest pre-fall range offers a taste of her renewed vision for the brand: Her flair for color, pattern and all things feminine and sequined remain intact, but she is embracing a more laid-back mood and adding a heftier dose of daywear into the mix.
It came in the form of chic shirtdresses, loose tailoring and silk kimono jackets, drawing on the designer’s love of Japanese design and culture.
She also looked to Eastern woodblock prints and Japanese graphic designer Tadanori Yokoo’s posters and matchboxes to inspire the season’s prints. They were loosely translated in the form of geometric patterns on loose tailored pieces or gold flame patterns featured on silk lamé dresses.
One silk lamé dress came in a bright chartreuse shade and a wrap silhouette. The way it flowed around the body and its ability to transition from day to night seemed to encapsulate Temperley’s new direction and the potential of the brand in daywear.
The designer also wanted to add a stronger sense of ease in the range’s eveningwear section, which remains key nevertheless: Sequins were

Natalia Vodianova’s Naked Heart Foundation has teamed with online luxury fashion web site LuisaViaRoma for her latest installment of the annual Fund Fair.
Slated to take place in London at Roundhouse on Feb. 18, the event takes inspiration from filmmaker Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita,” for its fifth year in the U.K. — and sixth overall.
The Fellini theme will be represented through an over-the-top set design at the English theater — complete with a Trevi Fountain. Guests, who in the past have included Hailey Baldwin and Taylor Swift, will try their hand at classic fair games like Hook-a-duck and bowling. Participating brands Louis Vuitton, Celine, Givenchy, Dior and more will have prizes on hand for the winners. There will additionally be live entertainment from Warner Music Group at the event.
Vodianova launched her foundation Naked Heart in 2004; since then, she has raised more than 40 million euros across the United States, U.K., Russia and France. The organization aims to support children with physical, mental and sensory disabilities through the initiation and support of various projects. Over the years, the Naked Heart Foundation has financed 18 projects across seven Russian cities, including a Family Support Centre in Nizhny Novgorod and summer and

FIRST TIME AROUND: Hong Kong fashion brand Izzue is throwing a 20th birthday bash in the form of a runway show during London Fashion Week in February. This will be the first time that Izzue’s men’s and women’s pieces will be showcased on a London runway.
“London has always been a source of inspiration for Izzue. It has always embodied British punk, so to show outside of Asia needed to be a natural next step and it needed to make sense, so it had to be London,” said Deborah Cheng, chief commercial officer at I.T group.
Izzue, which is under the multibrand I.T Group, has formed ties with London since 2013 when they launched in the U.K. in Selfridges. Since then, the brand has gone from being a pop-up to having a dedicated space in the department store’s Contemporary Studio on the third floor.
“Our pop-up was so successful back in 2013 that we were offered a permanent space on the ground floor right after, and to this day we are still exceeding their expectations. We’ve grown with Selfridges and now we are located in the Contemporary Studio,” said Cheng.
On top of its runway show debut, the brand is also launching a capsule collection with

THE BRIT TAKE: Alexa Chung brought a taste of New York to London with a Thanksgiving celebration to kick off the holiday season. “I’m calling it Chungsgiving — I’ve taken Thanksgiving, as if the British haven’t done enough to plunder,” Chung said, while getting ready at the penthouse of the London Edition Hotel, where she hosted the dinner.
“I’ve lived in New York and experienced quite a few Thanksgivings over there. I never had any family living with me, so what the holiday meant to me was bringing your friends together and making a makeshift family of all the expats floating around.” Thursday evening’s makeshift family included Serafina Sama of Isa Arfen, Suki Waterhouse and Poppy Jamie of Pop & Suki, Jack Guinness, Jeanne Damas, Pixie Geldof and Camille Charriere.
“I’ve missed how Thanksgiving in New York used to feel. It’s the one time of the year when it’s not a religious holiday, it’s just the beginning of the holiday season, where you can celebrate it with your mates, get drunk, feel cozy,” added Chung.
Everyone certainly got cozy. The evening kicked off with rounds of American whiskey punch, followed by a turkey dinner and pumpkin pie for dessert. To top it off,

Isaia will open its first store in London, a 4,800-square foot shop at 45 Conduit Street, on Nov. 4. This marks the first store in the U.K. for the Naples-based luxury men’s brand, which operates 18 stores elsewhere in Europe as well as in Asia, the Middle East and the U.S.
Gianluca Isaia, chief executive officer and third generation of the family-owned company, said: “I visited London for the first time in 1976 when I was 13 years old and have loved it ever since. London is truly one of the greatest cities in the world. The history, sophistication and the love of tailoring make it the perfect place for Isaia to have a home.”
The store is being designed by Ferrari Architetti and will be decorated with art and artifacts sourced by interior designer Alberta Saladino that speak to its legacy near the Bay of Naples. It will include features also found in other stores such as a vintage Campari bar and a red lacquered piano.
It will be divided into distinct areas intended to spotlight the full range of offerings, including sportswear, tailored clothing and accessories, and there will be a separate made-to-measure area and a “Vesuvio” VIP room.
Conduit Street in London’s

Stan Laurel, the slimmer British half of Hollywood double act Laurel and Hardy, was not one to wax lyrical about the art or mystique of comedy: “You have to learn what people will laugh at, then proceed accordingly,” he said, making vaudeville performance sound altogether as methodical and prosaic as shopping for groceries. No matter […]

MILAN — Neil Barrett is boosting its distribution with key openings and a new web site.
As a first step of a retail strategy aimed at bringing the brand founded in 1999 by British designer Neil Barrett in the most prestigious streets of the key international cities in the world, the fashion label is gearing up to unveil its first store in London.
Opening its doors just in time for the holiday season, the shop will occupy 2,153 square feet on Conduit Street in the heart of the Mayfair neighborhood and feature a “revisited, cozier version of the store concept by Zaha Hadid Architects, which is already on show in our 30 monobrand stores around the world,” said Neil Barrett chief executive officer Carlo Barone Lumaga, during an interview at the company’s headquarters in Milan.
“This is an important step for the brand and it’s even more relevant because Neil is British and he is very connected with his roots,” said Barone Lumaga, adding that the store will enable the brand to fully showcase its collection in a key market for the company. “We will definitely maintain our tight relationships with the British department stores and in the course of next year we will

SOBERING UP: The Turbulent Thirties and its fashion — ranging from the influence of Hollywood films to the rise of suburbia — will be the focus of a new show called “Night and Day: 1930s Fashion & Photographs” at The Fashion and Textile Museum. The exhibition will open Friday and run until Jan. 20.
Split into different tableaux, the exhibition highlights the changing political and cultural landscape of the decade, and its impact on fashion. There will be a total of 100 looks on display, lent by Mark and Cleo Butterfield of C20 Vintage.
“Whilst carrying out the research and planning Night and Day, it became clear that escapism was a major theme that needed to be explored. While the decade is famous for its glamorous bias-cut evening gowns that showcased a woman’s curves and its magical musicals full of romance and glamour, these years were defined by a constant anxiety about the harsh economic reality and shifting social status,” said co-curator Teresa Collenette.

ARTS AND CRAFTS: Seven young artists have won a sponsorship jackpot from Tiffany & Co., part of an ongoing partnership with the Outset Contemporary Art Fund. The jeweler provides promising arts graduates with rent-free studio space for a year to help them refine their work and kick-start their careers.
Richard Moore, the brand’s divisional vice president, store design and creative visual merchandising, revealed the names of the seven winners for this year during a breakfast held at Tiffany’s new Covent Garden concept space.
They are James Fuller, who is best known for creating art pieces out of mundane, everyday objects; multidisciplinary artist Mark Corfield-Moore; sculptor Miriam Naeh; contemporary jewelry designer Neung Wi Kim; painter Roy Efrat; Sofia Mitsola who stands out for her abstract portraits, and mixed-media artist Yasmine Robinson.
“Art has been such an important part of our brand narrative,” said Moore. “We really wanted to create not only an opportunity for young and emerging artists in London to be able to make those first steps up the ladder, but also to create that sense of community. It’s one of our brand purposes, as big organizations should really be supporting the community and the world at large.”
The winning artists will be given

DOUBLE TAKE: Aspinal of London unveiled its spring collection alongside a 25-piece capsule in collaboration with Giles Deacon, consisting of the brand’s top handbag and accessories sellers.
The Regent Street flagship came alive with Deacon’s hand-drawn illustrations, depicting the women of Aspinal seen through his eyes, and these were blown up as giant cardboard cutouts and plastered across the shop floor.
The colorful print was adorned on the brand’s mini Trunk bag, the Regent tote bag and the Micro Lottie style, while the best-selling Hepburn bag featured a single girl embossed on the front.
These Aspinal ladies consisted of an international cast, “yet still very quintessentially English,” but with a more global appeal, highlighting the brand’s overseas expansion plans in the Middle East and China.
“Giles didn’t want to reinvent the wheel in terms of product, so there are no new bag styles and he chose the ones most synonymous to the brand,” a spokeswoman said.
These handbags lined the walls of the store and were perched on display tables while scarves embellished with the print hung off display bars or sat neatly folded in drawers.
Further down into the heart of the store, the new handbag collection influenced by ballerinas was on show. The Trunk,

LADIES OF LONDON: Giles Deacon has taken up his paintbrushes and colored inks to create a capsule collection for the British accessories brand Aspinal of London. The collection, which is to make its debut during London Fashion Week in September and land in-store and online Oct. 15, will be available globally. In the U.S. it will be sold exclusively at Barneys New York.
Deacon has drawn a gang of elegant women dressed in colorful Forties-style skirts, coats, evening gowns, nipped waists and trouser suits, all walking on a bed of pink roses. Aspinal has cast the print onto the brand’s totes, shoulder and handbags, wallets and other small leather accessories. One of the designs — a woman holding a large handbag — has been lifted from the bigger print and embossed on the brand’s Hepburn bag.

Giles Deacon in his studio
Courtesy Photo

The mini hat-box bag has been covered in moiré leather in gold, rose gold and emerald green while the Aspinal Trunk Clutch has an iridescent hand-embroidered feather motif inspired by the Aspinal logo. The collection also includes silk scarves — and Christmas crackers — bearing the original print.
Prices range from 65 pounds for a luggage tag to 950 pounds for the embossed Hepburn bag.

COME FLY WITH ME: Members of the royal family tilted their heads skyward on Tuesday afternoon as the Royal Air Force marked its centenary with a dramatic flypast across central London and over Buckingham Palace.
The largest formation of RAF Typhoons, a combat aircraft, spelled out 100 above Buckingham Palace. A total of 100 warplanes — including jets, helicopters and airplanes — one for each year — flew over the palace balcony.
The event, which made pedestrians all over central London stop in their tracks and stare at the display, took place 100 days after the actual anniversary of the RAF, which is on April 1.

From left: Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan the Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Prince William and his wife Kate the Duchess of Cambridge, as they watch a Royal Air Force aircraft pass over Buckingham Palace in London.
Matt Dunham/AP/REX/Shutterstock

For her second appearance on the balcony, the Duchess of Sussex wore a black custom-made Dior dress, with nude heels and a black clutch also by Dior. She finished the look with a black fascinator by Stephen Jones.
The Duchess of Cambridge, who is on maternity leave and who celebrated her third child Louis’ christening on Monday, appeared in

ART PROJECT: Emerging London talent Matty Bovan is falling deeper in love with newsprint with the launch of his second ’zine Need4Mead, in partnership with Jamie Allan Shaw, publisher of Enlarge Your Memories.
The limited edition, large-format magazine retails at 15 pounds at Donlon Books in Hackney, east London.
The title explores the idea of Purgatory and British folklore. “We had seen a lot of weird religious imagery and we decided to loosely base it on the idea of Purgatory and being in between Heaven and Hell,” Bovan said.
Images from photographer Dexter Lander are featured on one side and on the flip side are visuals shot by photographer Lucy Alex Mac. “This was the perfect dreamscape to bring everyone together as I wanted to work with Dexter Lander and [the Manchester-based artist] Rory Mullen and reunite with Lucy Alex Mac,” said Bovan of the collaboration.
Shot in York, Hartlepool and Manchester, images feature Bovan and friends inside the Cleveland College of Art and Design, with a church set in the background. Models are covered in face and body paint and are dressed in brown and white tunics. Their poses mimic those found in religious works of art.
Special masks created by Mullen and Bovan, such as one

MANOLO MADNESS: The temperature was soaring inside London’s Burlington Arcade on Wednesday night, but the guests — not surprisingly — refused to go home. They were there to mark the opening of fashion footwear doyen Manolo Blahnik’s first men’s store, an Edwardian jewel of a space, and they were in a joyous mood.
Blahnik, who was looking cool in a sky-blue suit and artfully undone bow tie with stripes, played host to press, stylists, fellow luxury retailers and industry investors at the Mayfair arcade, which had been closed off for the night.
Evangeline Blahnik, the designer’s sister and an architect of the business, and her daughter Kristina Blahnik, the company’s chief executive officer, mingled in the arcade, which had been lined with flower carts showcasing the men’s shoes and a rainbow of colored paper lanterns ahead of the Pride in London parade on Saturday.
There were do-it-yourself ice cream sundae and cotton candy stalls, while guests drank Pimm’s, Britain’s fruity (but alcoholic) summer drink, and Champagne and dipped into icy buckets filled with oysters. At the entrance, dapper men passed out copies of The Blahnik Chronicles, a newspaper dedicated to the designer and his style.
Features included “The Gospel According to Manolo,” with rules to

A British court granted Uber a probationary license to operate in London, a victory for the ride-hailing company as it attempts to resolve allegations of corporate misbehavior before its planned initial public offering next year.WSJ.com: WSJD

THE SEQUEL: Guess Inc.’s Guess Jeans U.S.A. revealed details of where its roving Farmers Market pop-up concept is set to go next.
The company in May launched the Farmers Market concept — a weekend-long force of exclusive streetwear drops and collaborations, skateboard demonstrations, food and live music — with Nicolai Marciano, who handles brand partnerships and specialty marketing for Guess, disclosing to WWD at the time the concept would indeed hit the road internationally, but didn’t reveal much beyond that.
Guess said Monday the concept would be a mix of pop-ups with exclusives also to be sold through some retailers this month and next. Exact dates have yet to be revealed.
The pop-up concept, which will be a scaled-down version of what was seen in Los Angeles, is set to make its way to Paris at Club 75, Selfridges in London, GR8 in Tokyo, Lessons in Perth and Dover Street Market in Singapore.
International retailers set to receive pieces from the capsule collection include Slamjam in Milan, Luisa Via Roma in Florence, Juice in Hong Kong and online via the Innersect App based out of China.
The idea for the Farmers Market was born out of Guess Jeans USA, which parent Guess calls its incubator

STREET SMARTS: Traditional men’s wear retailers from Jermyn Street, St. James’s took to the sidewalks of London for their fourth open-air show in a see-now-buy-now format during London Fashion Week Men’s.
New to the fashion week fixture were brands Paul & Shark, Aspinal of London and Grenson. The three brands joined seasoned labels Harvie & Hudson, John Smedley, Lock & Co. and Aquascutum in flexing their sartorial muscles.
The Jermyn Street retailers favored mustard yellow and cornflower blue separates. Bright, colored socks added a pop to traditional looks.

A look from the St. James’s spring 2019 show.
Courtesy Photo

There were also streetwear staples in the mix, in the form of a camouflage-print windbreaker, a fishnet vest top and laid-back pieces such as cable-knit jumpers, gray track pants and basic T-shirts.
The see-now-buy-now presentation also saw female models dressed in men’s wear. One model wore a dark green slim-fit suit while another showed off a more summer-y look: Navy blue tailored shorts and a relaxed red pullover.
Later in the week, Barbour International showed off streetwear looks, too, incorporating elements from the brand’s classic Bedale jacket and T-shirts with retro-style brand logos.

NEW YORK — Charles Cohen is just getting started.
It was just over a year ago that the billionaire commercial real estate developer purchased Harrys of London, a U.K.-based footwear and accessories label. And today, Cohen has opened the doors to the brand’s first retail store, a boutique with 770 square feet of selling space on Park Avenue and 57th Street. The store is adjacent to a space that will house a 2,000-square-foot Richard James store, the other British men’s wear brand in which Cohen bought a majority stake last March. That store is expected to open in late August.
Both brands were personal favorites of Cohen’s and were searching for new owners, so the developer stepped up and purchased them. But he’s hardly been an absentee owner. He serves as chairman for both labels and has immersed himself in reinventing the brands by modernizing and updating them.
“It’s been an exciting adventure,” Cohen said. “And it’s gone better than I ever imagined.” In fact, he said he’s just about to finalize his third fashion acquisition, one that will be “complementary” to Harrys and Richard James. He declined to provide more details, but said this one is not a British brand.
At Harrys, Cohen parted ways

LONDON — London College of Fashion staged its first multisensory and immersive graduate BA show, a visual-sonic event that highlighted works from 180 students studying media, print, fashion contour and men’s and women’s wear.
While some took the traditional catwalk route during the show at the Oval Space in east London, other students opted to project their portfolios as short films on screens positioned on the runway. Designs ranged from the experimental to the theatrical, and this year’s graduating class favored facemasks and utilitarian inspired ensembles.
Julia Hofer-Maire kicked off the show with foam-constructed tops. Men’s wear student Xu followed her, sending out stripes and checked suits with large floral patchwork embellishments. Women’s wear student Mijuko looked to the great outdoors, with separates designed with large heritage style checks that were adorned with sleeping bag-inspired decorations.
Carolina Raquel, another women’s wear student, opted for full volume. Her looks were created with technical fabrics that were bunched, folded and tied to create full skirt shapes in a simple palette of red, white and black.
Embroidery student Amelia Skarpellis and knitwear student Alexandra Anderson collaborated on colorful deconstructed textiles. Knitwear sat loose and large on the model’s body and there were cutouts and looped threads held together by metal rings. A

MAY FLOWERS: Red Valentino is joining in the celebrations for “Chelsea in Bloom” — a long-standing London tradition that sees Chelsea retailers flood their storefronts with flowers — with a new window installation and a collection of punchy, floral T-shirts, presented at the brand’s London flagship on Sloane Square.
To pay homage to the “Summer of Love” theme for this year’s “Chelsea in Bloom” initiative, the label created a large-scale installation that spells the word “Love” and features on its window. It’s decorated with peonies, cestrum and dianthus — a selection of red flowers chosen by floral designer Larry Walshe.
The brand also got in the floral mood by lining their signature bouquet-printed clothing across its Chelsea boutique’s walls and joined forces with illustrator Ollie St Clair Terry to create a new red-and-blue floral print.

During an event to mark the start of “Chelsea in Bloom,” St Clair Terry was stationed at the center of the shop floor demonstrating the screen-printing technique he used as part of his collaboration with the brand.
The print is presented on 100 limited-edition T-shirts and Terry called the tie-in a “perfect dream”: “Working with them was incredible, a lot of my work features floral and fauna so it ticked all the boxes of how I

TEA FOR MORE THAN TWO: Prince Charles cut a swathe through west London on Wednesday, paying a visit with his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, to Yoox Net-a-porter’s tech hub and to the new Soho House outpost, White City House, to chat with sustainability-minded designers.
The day was all business, however, and there wasn’t a squeak about the forthcoming nuptials between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Yoox founder and YNAP chief executive officer Federico Marchetti led the tour and told the royals how the company is using artificial intelligence to create a personalized future shopping experience. The company created a prototype homepage tailored for royal tastes that included a curated range of luxury fashion pieces, jewelry and watches.
The duo also joined a coding session with 60 schoolgirls, ranging in age from 11 to 13, who took part in a hackathon and other digital games as a part of an initiative between YNAP and Imperial College London.
“Today, our guests had the opportunity to see how Artificial Intelligence can be about warmth, beauty and craftsmanship,” said Marchetti. “There is nothing more human than the desire for uniqueness. One of the great advances of digital technology is the power to personalize products and services on a vast scale.

SHOW ON THE ROAD: The British trade show London Edge, which takes place twice a year, is headed to Las Vegas on Aug. 14 to 15 during Magic.
The trade show organizer said more than 50 lifestyle fashion brands will be showcased at Flamingo Hotel, in the middle of the Strip, for the first time, and some 60 percent of its booths have been allocated.
“Las Vegas has long been in our sights and now it’s a reality,” said London Edge managing director Carole Hunter. “Running at the same time as numerous other events around Las Vegas including Magic and Pool, we intend to provide the U.S. retailers unable to make the trip to London with a whole host of extra special reasons to visit Sin City.”
The trip to Las Vegas is part of London Edge’s efforts to position itself firmly as an international trade showcase. The organizer said that buyers from 26 countries travelled to the London show last season and met with exhibitors from 16 countries.
“With a dedicated focus on the lifestyle, youth culture, alternative and subculture markets, London Edge prides itself on attracting key buyers from all over the globe through its doors. London is the go-to fashion trade exhibition

LONDON BOUND: Iceberg goes to the U.K.
The Italian contemporary brand, controlled by manufacturing company Gilmar, is showing its men’s spring 2019 collection during London Collections: Men.
The runway show will take place on June 8 in a still undisclosed location.
Along with unveiling its latest men’s effort, creative director James Long will also showcase a selection of looks from Iceberg women’s pre-fall lineup.
Long joined the Iceberg men’s division in November 2015 and then, in August 2016, he was tapped by the brand to succeed Arthur Arbesser at the helm of the women’s line.
Last February, Iceberg presented its women’s fall collection, along with a few looks from the men’s range, with a runway show in the streets of Milan.

ASHES TO ASHES: Never one to shy away from publicity, Joe Corré has taken pieces of his punk memorabilia that he burned in 2016 and created works of art that are on display at the Lazinc gallery in London.
“This expensive pile of ash commemorates the demise of punk but also society as we know it,” said Corré during the opening of the Ash From Chaos exhibition on Thursday. “Punk was hijacked by corporations and the establishment, its potency rendered meaningless. Punk is dead, it is used by corporations to offer people an illusion of an alternative choice to sell them something they don’t need. It’s been hijacked — but I’ve hijacked it back, and we can now use that opportunity to see things for what they really are. Now we’re talking about the value of ash.”
Corré, is the son of Vivienne Westwood and the late Malcolm McLaren, who managed the Sex Pistols. He cofounded the lingerie brand Agent Provocateur in 1994 with his ex-wife Serena Rees.
Two years ago, Corré joined his mother in West London to set fire to his punk memorabilia collection. The burning ritual took place in the year that London celebrated the 40th anniversary of punk, with

Chloe Gosselin is setting out to further establish her presence in London, with the opening of a pop-up store in Notting Hill.
The former model and footwear designer, who launched her eponymous label four years ago, said she wanted to have a space where she can showcase her collections in their entirety and meet customers.
“We wanted to be able to show all of our styles, not just the bits and pieces that stores pick up, and make the proper introduction of the brand to London. It’s a market that offers great opportunity, so I want to have a presence and get inspired by the fashion here,” said Gosselin, who celebrated her London debut with a dinner at Somerset House’s Spring restaurant.

The brand, which is best recognized for its use of bold colors, ruched fabrics and feminine bows, is stocked at Boutique 1 in the U.K.
The pop-up is located at the Pippa store in West London, a retail space by the former editor and retailer Pippa Vosper, which is dedicated to offering sample sales as well as designer takeovers. When no sample sales are on, Vosper utilizes the space to host young labels looking to showcase their collections — both discounted and full

LONDON-BOUND: Los Angeles-based label Rails founder Jeff Abrams says he feels like he’s been in expansion mode since he started his company with upcoming plans to open a store in London and potentially grow his line to include accessories and homewares.
Stocked at Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Trilogy, he recently held a pop-up showcase at Harrods showcasing his full spring 2018 women’s wear range, which was filled with his signature shirts, easy dresses and rompers. Prices ranged from 140 pounds for a shirt to 300 pounds for denim or knitwear.
Launched in 2008, the label is known for its luxe soft button down shirts won by the likes of celebrities including Jessica Alba and Kendall Jenner.
He said there’s a lot of room for growth for his brand in Europe. “We’re always trying to identify places where we have room for growth,” Abrams said. “Even in this market where we’ve been for a couple of years, there’s still so many places where we’re not selling yet. We’re actively growing those markets in Asia, Middle East, South America. There are so many places that we can see customers are visiting us online and buying our product, but we may not have retail distribution and

HEAR THEM ROAR: Liberty is taking the spirit of International Women’s Day and stretching it across the month of March with a series of activities and projects highlighting female achievers of past and present, and the British suffragettes.
On Thursday, the store unveiled giant portraits shot by Mary McCartney of designers Anya Hindmarch, Katharine Hamnett and Stella Jean; the author Elise Valmorbida; singer Florence Welch; hair-care entrepreneur Loretta De Feo, and Katy Emck, founder of Fine Cell Work, which promotes needlework made by prisoners.
The portraits are featured in the windows of the London store alongside an image of gal-dem, a print and online magazine and creative collective that aims to empower and support creative work among young women of color.
During the month, Liberty will also host talks with women of influence, and sessions with beauty experts and female brand founders who have links with the retailer.
The store has also reinstated Emma Blackmore’s portrait on the shop floor. Blackmore, an accomplished photographer, was Arthur Liberty’s second wife who helped him to bankroll the opening of the Liberty store in 1875.
Liberty has a particular connection to creative and entrepreneurial women, especially in this 100th anniversary year of them winning the right to vote in Britain.

THE QUEEN AT QUINN: Queen Elizabeth made a surprise appearance at emerging designer Richard Quinn’s runway show on Tuesday afternoon as part of a visit to London Fashion Week and to present Quinn with the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.
She wore a duck egg blue tweed dress and jacket embellished with Swarovski crystals. It was designed by Angela Kelly, her longtime dressmaker.

Richard Quinn and Queen Elizabeth
Giovanni Giannoni/WWD

The Queen visited LFW’s Designer Showrooms to view the collections and then attended Quinn’s runway show before presenting him with The Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.

The award, initiated in recognition of the role the fashion industry plays in society and diplomacy, will be handed annually to an emerging British fashion designer who shows exceptional talent and originality, while demonstrating value to the community and/or strong sustainable policies, according to the British Fashion Council.
Born and raised in Eltham, southeast London, Richard Quinn holds a B.A. and M.A. from Central Saint Martins. He graduated from the M.A. program in 2016, and launched his line that year.

Student graduate shows can be hit or miss but the 19 MA students from Central Saint Martins presented an exciting mix that ran the sartorial gamut from extreme silhouettes and innovative textiles to sleek tailoring in more traditional fabrications.
Among the highlights: Liam Johnson, whose sculptural silhouettes opened the show; Elise Perrotta’s all cream collection featuring wardrobe staples in textural knits, and women’s wear designer Edwin Mohney, who closed the show with a provocative collection that included conceptual pieces made using inflatables wrapped in packing tape.
As in past seasons, craftsmanship in the men’s wear stood out. Particularly noteworthy was Olaf Tavares Vieira, whose draped men’s wear collection was awarded the L’Oreal Professional Creative Award. Inspired by utilitarianism and the stomach as the center of the body, his lineup included fluid ankle-grazing coats, along with sweaters with cutouts in the back and slouchy trousers enveloping the torso that had a monkish appeal.
“I like clothes that are close on the neck and belly and on the ankle,” Vieira explained. “It gives me a kind of strength, even if the clothes are soft.”
He shared the prize with women’s wear designer Rebecca Jeffs, whose tactile collection was a clever play on famous sayings such as

BARE NECESSITIES: Topless, or scantily clad, female activists braved the cold February weather to stage protests during fashion week, capitalizing on the media throngs at shows to gain attention.
On Friday, both PETA supporters and advocates for a more body-inclusive runway caused scenes, shouting out for their respective causes. The antifur contingent had “wear your own skin” painted on their bare torsos, and encouraged passersby to stand up for animals by embracing a vegan wardrobe. On the subject of fur, Elisa Allen, director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said: “It’s not fabric, and it’s not ours for the taking.”
Meanwhile, the pro-curves protesters held plaques that read “fashion rules rewritten” and wore lingerie by Simply Be, a plus-size brand. American model and actress Hayley Hasselhoff led the way, accompanied by eight activists who demanded to know when more curvaceous women will be seen on runways. Angela Spindler, chief executive officeroff N Brown Group plc, which owns Simply Be, said: “This isn’t about ‘skinny shaming.’ We think that shape should be celebrated irrespective of size.”
The women all got their say – and a few goosebumps.

SHOW TIME: British accessories designer Lulu Guinness is planning to join London Fashion Week schedule in February for the first time in the brand’s 28-year history.
The presentation will take place over two days from Feb. 17-18, so that industry members and consumers can attend.
It promises to be a “sensory and energetic” experience, according to Guinness.
“I’ve created something that is fun, interactive and sharable on social media. What people like about my brand is the playful, witty nature, so it will be a larger-than-life version of that,” she added.
The presentation will also include see-now-buy-now elements, with a selection of items at the event immediately available at the brand’s web site and the Covent Garden flagship.
Guinness said it was the right time to add her name to the British Fashion Council’s official schedule, having expanded her range to include clothing and footwear last year.
“Where else would we debut other than London? This is our home and heart of the brand. We love what the BFC has done for London Fashion Week in the last decade, it’s an exciting time to be part of British fashion,” she added.

FUR ZONE: Fur may be falling out of fashion, with brands including Gucci and Michael Kors promising to eschew it in favor of the faux stuff, but not everyone is giving it up.
Following her men’s wear show in London, the Danish designer Astrid Andersen hosted a Champagne reception at the Mandrake Hotel to showcase a collaboration with the Finnish company Saga Furs.
Guests included the Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, who is the face of Andersen’s small, bespoke fur collection, while grime artist Giggs from southeast London performed a set.
The standout piece from the collection was a checked coat in mustard gold, pink and palomino, with a black fur collar. Other pieces included a checked jacket with a fur lapel, and a gold and pink fur scarf. The furs used were a mix of raccoon, mink and fox.
Andersen said she worked with Saga because they are one of the only auction houses that give their furs a bar code. Customers on the shop floor can scan the tag and trace the origins of the fur. “When you buy a fur coat you need some kind of guarantee,” said the designer, adding that she believes the future is bright for fur.
“I think fur

John Alexander Skelton
Born and raised in York, John Alexander Skelton received his master’s in fashion men’s wear at Central Saint Martins and took on internships at E. Tautz and Patrik Ervell before launching his label last year. Selected by Giles Deacon, Skelton is a recipient of the Sarabande scholarship, an initiative from The Lee Alexander McQueen Foundation that aids young designers. He is working out of a studio at Sarabande in east London.
Sustainability is a key theme for Skelton, who incorporates repurposed materials into his ranges and takes a DIY approach to his work. He has a loom in his studio and many of his fabrics are handwoven, as is much of his knitwear. “Everything I dye is also done by hand using natural dye. The handcrafted element is my signature, in a way,” said the designer.
For fall 2018, Skelton has been working with mills in Ireland, mixing British wool and Irish linen.
“I have been doing a lot of hand weaving, as well, on the loom. I have also done a few natural dyes this time, one using an ancient European dye, the European version of indigo, called woad,” he said.
Skelton’s main focus has always been on the process and

FRESH TALENT: London College of Fashion’s graduating MA men’s wear students showcased their collections on Friday with a runway show ahead of London Fashion Week Men’s.
Ten students from the fashion design technology men’s wear course presented their ranges at St John’s Smith Square in Westminster, in the show styled by Adele Cany. The strongest lineups came from Hanni Yang, Ying Yi Lu, Hengmin Lu, Sohyeon Park and Xu Bo.
Yang, who has worked with Teatum Jones and Céline, explored pattern-cutting and worked scarves onto the garments. She sent out a range of tailored-yet-relaxed looks and draped burgundy and cream silk scarves over a white men’s wear shirt and burgundy trousers.
Ying Yi Lu looked to young boys of the Victorian era and focused on tailoring, as in a cropped blue pinstripe suit. Lu topped off the looks with sailor style hats done in collaboration with Atelier Millinery.
Hengmin Lu — who has worked with Ports 1961 — was inspired by the architecture of the Chairman Mao era. Lu explored functionality and pattern cutting as seen on a long brown coat, worn over a white shirt with a mandarin collar and white knee-length shorts. The student teamed with JKJY Handcraft Fashion Ltd. Shanghai on

Alice Temperley referenced a myriad of influences — such as 20th-century female explorers, nature, archeology and Peter Beard’s travel journals — for pre-fall. The Temperley woman was a dynamic, wandering traveler who was on a journey and spent her days exploring.
Temperley juxtaposed feminine aspects of the range with more masculine shapes, which added a cool edge to her relaxed and contemporary lineup of daywear, tailoring and eveningwear.
She incorporated cotton drill men’swear tailoring, oversized silhouettes and cinched-in waists against soft chiffon fabrics and florals. There was a jumpsuit that featured a bold graphic embroidery influenced by Tibetan Tiger rugs. A tailored khaki suit was belted at the waist. The jacket, which came a bit oversized, was paired with wide-leg cropped trousers.
For eveningwear, she concentrated on spines and nature as embellishments. She employed sequins and mirrored Perspex, which were hand-cut. She looked at the spines of leaves, animal prints and fossils and devised geometric patterns, which were hand-sewn as accents on floor-sweeping gowns and jumpsuits.
The designer worked in a palette filled with camel, green, khaki, dark olive, pecan, saffron, savannah, scarlet, turmeric and vermilion.

PEARLS AND SWINE: Miss Piggy will bask in the spotlight — her favorite place — during the Fashion Awards in London as the Swarovski Red Carpet Presenter. The appearance will mark Miss Piggy’s debut at the British awards ceremony.
She and Derek Blasberg will cohost the live-stream on Dec. 4 at Royal Albert Hall on behalf of Swarovski, the event’s headline sponsor. “Moi on the red carpet is always a spectacular event,” said Miss Piggy.
“I promise everyone a night of incomparable and unpredictable moi! Having moi as the red-carpet presenter for the 2017 Fashion Awards truly pushes the limits of fabulosity.”
While it’s still unclear what Miss Piggy will be wearing that evening, the outfit won’t be boring.
She has told WWD that when it comes to fashion, it’s about pleasing yourself first. “If you’re happy with how you look, don’t worry about pleasing others — it’s not as if their opinion actually matters!
“Also, I believe that what you wear should say something about you. My clothes always make a statement, and that statement is usually: “Hey, look at me, I’m wearing something original, expensive…and I got the network to pay for it!”

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STELLA’S MOMENT: The British Fashion Council will honor Stella McCartney’s commitment to championing sustainability and animal rights at this year’s Fashion Awards. McCartney will be the first recipient of the Special Recognition Award for Innovation, a new accolade that’s been added to the award ceremony’s lineup this year.
“What I am most proud of is that it is a new award that is introduced into the Fashion Awards, a special recognition on innovation. I am hoping that as being the first recipient, I can inspire other design houses to follow suit and to make this the most prestigious award, not just a one-off,” the designer said.
Natalie Massenet, the British Fashion Council’s chairman who has been working toward refreshing the image of the Fashion Awards in Britain and giving the event a more international scope, called McCartney a “fashion pioneer.”
“She has created a modern business that, in turn, has led her to be at the forefront of sustainable sourcing and material innovation. She is proof that high and ethical fashion combined can create astonishing results and her innovative approach to the industry is an inspiration to us all,” Massenet added.
McCartney has been using materials such as vegetarian leather, organic cotton and regenerated

Biographical film dramas used to cover a lot of ground without, as a rule, showing a lot of artistry. That all changed around the time of “Capote” (2005), a movie that employed the then-audacious strategy of focusing on a single extended chapter of Truman Capote’s life — the reporting and writing of “In Cold Blood” […]

FRENCH CONNECTION: Roland Mouret may have made London his home, but his heart, and palate, still fly the French flag.
On Thursday, when Americans were tucking into their Thanksgiving turkeys, Mouret hosted a dinner prepared by the two-star Michelin chef Hélène Darroze, his old friend and neighbor on Carlos Place in Mayfair to mark the launch of his first fragrance earlier this year, called Une Amourette. Darroze operates an eponymous restaurant across the street at the Connaught hotel.
There was Champagne and foie gras to start, and guests later took to the first floor of Mouret’s townhouse flagship for a three-course meal built around the notes of Une Amourette: The blue lobster starter was marinated with cardamom, pink peppercorn and bergamot, while the roast saddle of venison came with a black pepper crust flavoured with smoked juniper.
Dessert was Mouret’s childhood favorite, caramelized apple tarte tatin, which Darroze — who had set up a temporary kitchen in Mouret’s townhouse — served with a side of hay-flavored ice cream on a table laid with bowls of irises and thick white candles.
“My grandmother used to make me tarte tatin — but hers was more burnt than Hélène’s,” said Mouret, whose guests included Arizona Muse and Cat

KING’S CROSS CARHARTT: Carhartt Work In Progress, the fashion proposition from the American workwear brand, has opened its first London flagship in the newly-revitalized neighborhood near King’s Cross train station.
Located at 2 Pancras Square, near Nike, &OtherStories and Jigsaw, the 2,500-square feet store spans two levels and also houses a coffee shop. It carries the full Carhartt WIP men’s and women’s ranges and collaborations, with prices ranging from 25 pounds for a watch beanie, to 400 pounds for outerwear.
The interiors are meant to channel a “rugged utilitarianism” with canvas wall panels and display units designed in hues of brown and tan. Floors are done in concrete while aluminium lamps hang from the ceiling. Designer Faye Toogood created the post-industrial brass fixtures as well as the overall look of the store.
Brand director Wilfried Atzert said Carhartt specifically wanted to be in the neighborhood. “King’s Cross has had a transformation. The area is home to Central Saint Martins as well as London’s Eurostar international terminal. The surrounding area is in the middle of a very interesting expansion – offering a diverse mix of shops, bars, restaurants and headquarters as well.”
Launched in 1989 in Europe, Carhartt Work In Progress puts a trendy spin

LIFE OF LUXURY: Matchesfashion.com, House of Hackney, Farfetch and Gucci were among the winners of the 16th annual Walpole British Luxury Awards, hosted by Catherine Zeta-Jones at The Dorchester in London on Monday night.
Matchesfashion.com scooped the award for British Luxury Brand of the Year, while House of Hackney and Aurelia Probiotic Skincare were among the names that received the Brands of Tomorrow award for Emerging Talent.
Chatsworth and Gucci also won accolades, the former for Cultural Experience and the latter for International Luxury Brand of the Year. It wasn’t the first time that the two names were linked in 2017: Gucci was the sponsor of “House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth,” a wide-ranging exhibition that ran from March until October at the famous stately in Derbyshire.
Knitwear maker Johnstons of Elgin won for Commitment to British Manufacturing, while Farfetch scooped the Digital prize.
Kingsman and Mr Porter won the Innovation and Creativity award. Earlier this year, the online retailer came out with its second costume-to-collection collaboration with Matthew Vaughn and his “Kingsman” film franchise.
Other British brands also had their moment in the spotlight, with Bentley winning for Luxury Maker of the Year; Glenmorangie for Luxury with a Heart, and Jaguar Land

Shawn Mendes was the big winner Sunday at the MTV EMAs in London, scooping the best song and best artist awards. Mendes had been expected to fare well, going into the EMAs with four noms. Only Taylor Swift had more, with six. The awards bash was held at Wembley Arena but also saw MTV stage […]

KRISTMAS KARL: Karl Lagerfeld is the latest creative type to design the Claridge’s Christmas tree, which will be unveiled in the hotel lobby on the morning of Nov. 22.
“Christmas trees are the strongest ‘souvenir’ of my happy childhood,” said Lagerfeld who was born in Hamburg, Germany.
This is the eighth year that Claridge’s has invited a designer to re-interpret the tree in their distinctive style, with past collaborators coming from a variety of creative industries.
Last year, Apple’s chief design officer Sir John Ive and Marc Newson — a designer who works across multiple disciplines, from furniture to aircraft and yachts — were tapped for the occasion.
The Claridge’s Christmas tree has become a holiday landmark in London, drawing large numbers of visitors.
In the past, tree designers have also included Alber Elbaz, John Galliano and Burberry’s Christopher Bailey, who adorned his tree with metallic umbrellas from top to bottom.

TROPHY HUSBAND: The prince of minimalist design, John Pawson, has a long history of setting some big challenges for the craftsmen at Swarovski, and the crystal trophy with its convex lens that he’s designed for the 2017 Fashion Awards in London is the latest in a long line.
“It’s the most simple of forms — a cylinder — but it’s only faceted on one side, which is unusual,” said Pawson from his basement kitchen in London’s Holland Park, where he and his wife Catherine hosted a dinner to mark the trophy’s reveal ahead of the awards, which will take place in partnership with Swarovski on Dec. 4 at the Royal Albert Hall.
There was a problem with the colors, too: Each crystal cylinder has a lacquer “thread” of a different color streaking through the center. Because it’s impossible to put certain materials through crystal, Pawson and Swarovski had to create an acrylic tube to hold the colors — which include gold, silver, platinum and ebony — in place.
The two have traveled this winding road before: In 2011, Pawson created a work called “Perspectives,” which involved a Swarovski-made concave crystal meniscus — the largest lens possible to manufacture. It was a feat of

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LONDON — Giorgio Armani gave this beleaguered city a lift -—and a shower of stardust — opening his newly refurbished Emporio Armani store on New Bond Street, hosting a party where Ellie Goulding and A-ha performed, and showcasing the work of young London talents at his spring 2018 runway event on Sunday night.
To mark his big moment in the country that on Friday witnessed its fifth terror attack this year, 700 black cabs and double-decker buses were customized with Emporio campaign images, while the London Eye and County Hall were specially illuminated with an Emporio Armani projection on the first night of London Fashion Week.
It has been 11 years since Armani has done anything big in London: In 2006, the brand took over Earl’s Court to show the spring 2007 collection with Leonardo DiCaprio and James Franco in the audience and Beyoncé performing at the event, which raised money and awareness for AIDS.
This time around it was all about the new face of Emporio, and while the event was on a much smaller scale, the energy — and positivity — weren’t lacking at the Tobacco Dock show and party venue in east London.
“We’re very emotional about this show and, also, my uncle is

KATHARINE’S CAUSE: British designer Katharine Hamnett is back in action on the political — and fashion — fronts. The designer — famous for her political and environmental activism over the decades — took part in the People’s March for Europe on Saturday, where thousands gathered at Hyde Park Corner in London and marched through the capital to Parliament Square.
Hamnett spoke alongside singer and songwriter Bob Geldof during the pro-EU rally, and designed a “Cancel Brexit” T-shirt for the cause. The designer said the U.K. needs a second referendum, and called the first one “deeply flawed.”
“People were lied to,” Hamnett said on Saturday. “They were given the wrong information. It’s hard to understand what economic benefit Brexit is offering Britain. And there’s a vast cost. What do we actually get out of it? Why are we leaving the single market? What’s to hate about it? It’s just crazy.”
Another issue dear to Hamnett is sustainability. It’s been 14 years since she’s shown a seasonal collection, and now she’s back with a see-now-buy-now offer that has sustainability at its heart.
Her latest range includes bomber jackets, boiler suits, silk joggers and white T-shirts. The designer revisited her archives and has reissued a few styles,

Laura Taylor and Ryan Holliday-Stevens have always expressed their affinity for New York, so it’s no surprise when they decided to show Solace, their London-based collection, here. “It s been a lifelong dream for us, to be able to come here and do a show,” said Holliday-Stevens backstage at their show location in a Mercer Street gallery. “It was interesting, not that we did anything differently, but we did think of how the clothes would move in a show format. But what we really wanted was for it to be bright and bold and all about colors and prints,” he explained. Mission accomplished. The lineup definitely stood out for its unapologetic use of color and geometry. The duo kicked things off with a yellow-belted PVC coat worn over slinky knitted pants with big red earrings, followed by a cool dual-tone-blue belted PVC mid-length skirt that later reappeared in a yellow and cream version. Floatier options included silk one-shoulder drapey numbers in a Scrabble print and big flouncy tiered tops and dresses.

THE WORLD OF PRINCE: The belongings of pop star Prince will be the subject of a new exhibition, opening in London’s O2 arena in October.
From world-famous items such as the orange Cloud guitar from his Super Bowl halftime performance or the purple jacket and ruffled shirt from the “Purple Rain” tour to never-before-seen artifacts taken from Paisley Park, his estate outside Minneapolis, the exhibition will offer an intimate look into the legendary performer’s life.
Prince’s sister, Tyka Nelson, highlighted the Cloud guitar as one of the standout pieces in the collection. She told the British newspaper Evening Standard that “[even though] people always associate the color purple with Prince, his favorite color was actually orange.”
Nelson chose the British capital as the location for the first exhibition centered on her brother since it was the city that accepted the musician the most. He performed at the O2 arena for 21 consecutive nights in 2007. The exhibition, titled “My Name Is Prince” will run next to the same arena for 21 days.
Nelson added that by staging the exhibition, she is aiming to fulfill her brother’s wish of opening up his world to the public: “It was always his wish to make all

POWER LAUNCH: Nars is taking a new, more modern approach to marketing its latest lip product, Powermatte Lip Pigment.
The cosmetics brand has teamed with the digital publishing platform Refinery 29 to host an art exhibition in London called “PowerMouth,” spotlighting the works of five female artists. The participating artists, which include Daantje Bons, Natalia Stuyk, Romily Alice, Shae DeTar and Vanessa Kisuule have explored ideas such as self-expression and power through a range of mediums, from photography to live installations and portraiture.
Some of the photography features close-ups of female lips, which fittingly highlight the new Nars lip range, while live installations range from poetry projections to “an interactive activity wall,” where guests are encouraged to leave their own message by kissing, drawing or writing on translucent colored sheets from the Powermatte palette.

Artwork by Shae Detar
Courtesy Photo

“The exhibition includes a mirror box that showcases Natalia Stuyk’s work. As part of this installation, the audience will come across a wall where people can leave powerful messages and words of inspiration over two days — the responses left will then become their own piece of art, and a central focus to the exhibition,” said Kirsty Hathaway, Refinery 29’s executive branded content director in

GETTING A TRIM: The fall-winter 2018 London men’s collections in January are starting later and losing a day. The British Fashion Council said Thursday that the showcase would run from Saturday, Jan. 6 to Monday, Jan. 8.
The BFC said that after “consultation with designers and key national and international guests,” it wanted to allow more time between the holiday period and London Fashion Week Men’s in January.
Come June, the showcase will revert to four days and run from June 8-11. Next year, London Fashion Week will run from February 16-20 and from September 14-18.

DOCTORS IN THE HOUSE: British Fashion Council chief executive officer Caroline Rush and MCM’s Sung-joo Kim both received honorary doctorate degrees from University of the Arts London, UAL, on Thursday.
Rush and Kim are being recognized for their commitments to fashion during UAL’s graduation ceremonies at Royal Festival Hall. They were among 12 honorary degree recipients from the arts and cultural sectors. Others who were honored included Frances Morris, the director of the Tate Modern, set designer Es Devlin and Neisha Crosland.
“It is an honor to be recognized by UAL in this way,” said Rush. “The students graduating this year are the real inspiration and being able to address our future fashion business leaders as they graduated was an incredible experience.”
Kim, who launched brands such as Gucci, Sonia Rykiel, YSL, Marks & Spencer and MCM in Korea, serves as founder, chairperson and chief visionary officer of Sungjoo Group and MCM Holding AG.
“Ironically, I was a drop-out, failed student but here I am,” said Kim. “I have received an honorary doctorate, so I have witnessed that mission impossible can be possible. My mission has always been: Succeed to serve. I have this desire to serve others with my achievement as I had

DILARA’S PROPAGANDA: Luisa Via Roma’s Andrea Panconesi headed to London Thursday night to mark the launch of an exclusive capsule with the emerging designer Dilara Findikoglu.
The Florence-based retailer fully embraced Findikoglu’s rebellious spirit for the evening, hosting a dinner in a grand room at East London’s Masonic Hall, complete with rock music and withered roses scattered on the dinner table.
SEE ALSO: Dilara Findikoglu on Fashion, Politics and Central Saint Martins >>
“We’ve always supported young designers since Day One, and Dilara presents the new generation, a very specific part of the young generation,” said Panconesi, chief executive officer at Luisa Via Roma.
The launch of the capsule, which currently consists of a red tracksuit set, will be followed by other products in the future. It is part of a new initiative by the Italian retailer called LVR Editions that kicked off on June 16.

Andrea Panconesi and Petite Meller
Courtesy Photo

SEE ALSO: LuisaViaRoma to Launch LVR Editions >>
Each month, a different co-branded product will be on sale in a dedicated section of luisaviaroma.com. Sergio Rossi, Dolce & Gabbana and Superga are among the brands set to participate in the project.
“Luisa Via Roma [is] one of my biggest stockists. They ordered so much of the last collection,”

Kahn, who has gone head-to-head with the president before, told CNN in a new interview, “State visits are different from a normal visit, and at a time when the President of the U.S.A. has policies that many in our country disagree with, I am not sure it is appropriate for our government to roll out the red carpet.”

Shortly after, however, an online petition calling a potential Trump visit an “embarrassment” to the host nation garnered more than 1.8 million signatures. Last month, the Queen didn’t mention Trump’s planned trip to the U.K. during her speech at the opening of Parliament.

At the time, Trump administration and Downing Street officials respectively denied that the trip had been canceled, saying instead that an exact date had just not yet been scheduled.

Last week, however, the White House confirmed that Trump’s state visit to the United Kingdom had been delayed until 2018. They gave no reason for the postponement.

President Trump and Khan have clashed in recent months, with the president lashing out at Khan just hours after the London Bridge terror attack in June: “We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people. If we don’t get smart it will only get worse,” Trump tweeted at the time.

RELATED VIDEO: London’s Mayor Suggests Canceling President Trump’s State Visit After His Criticisms on Twitter

He added, “At least seven dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed’ !”

Trump was responding to an interview Khan did with the BBC regarding the police action being taken after the attack, during which he said, “Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. There’s no reason to be alarmed.”

In response, Khan’s aide said in a statement that the mayor had “more important things to do” than comment on Trump’s tweets. Trump, however, doubled down on his insult, writing on social media, “Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his ‘no reason to be alarmed’ statement.”

Further speaking about Trump to CNN this week, Khan also said, “If you somehow think it is not possible to be a Muslim and a proud westerner I am happy to disabuse you of that idea, whether you are a reporter for CNN or Donald Trump.”

The Queen traditionally issues an invite for a state visit to the sitting U.S. president once during their four or eight-year term. She has met with every American president since she assumed the throne in 1952 — except for Lyndon B. Johnson.

While presidents sometimes make multiple visits to the U.K. for official state business, a state visit hosted by the Queen usually includes a stay at Windsor Castle and a dinner attended by members of the royal family.

Links of London is slated to open its fifth U.S. boutique on Saturday at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
The newest U.S. store will feature displays that incorporate elements unique to the Las Vegas location. One example is its Sweetie collection — bracelet and whimsical charms — that will be showcased in a display reimagined to resemble a roulette table. A separate Friendship Table hosts a mix-and-match bracelet bar. And its Engraving and Customization Bar — home to the brand’s made-to-order program — will allow customers to custom design their charm bracelets. Other services at the store include in-house engraving, restringing and polishing.
The British jewelry brand is marking the opening with a new Welcome to Las Vegas Keepsake charm in yellow gold that will be sold just at the new store.
Leela Petrakis, president of FF Group North America, the company that owns the Links of London brand, said the company “translated” its offerings into an interactive experience both in the stores and online because “personalization and storytelling are at the core of the Links of London DNA.”
The other four stores are in Manhattan: One each at Columbus Circle, on Madison Avenue, inside the Met Life Building and

MARKING MEN’S: “It’s an incredible achievement for the BFC,” boasted London Fashion Week Men’s ambassador David Gandy at a reception hosted by the British Fashion Council to mark the fifth anniversary of London Fashion Week Men’s on Sunday. Held at the Designer Showrooms at Store Studios, the event also honored the design talent that has taken up space at the Designer Showrooms to showcase their collections. Guests included Gandy, Caroline Rush and Daniel Fletcher.
“I’ve been here since Day One,” said Gandy of London Fashion Week Men’s. “There have been changes in format for the shows and seasons. Everyone has been affected in Paris and Milan. We have to see how it spans over few years. Just having a platform and show space like this for emerging designers is brilliant anyway. Whatever happens, this has to continue because it is such an important role. We have the best fashion schools here. To have a platform for the younger generation during fashion week — which isn’t the easiest thing — it’s very important.”
“I think a lot of brands are waiting to see how it goes,” he added. “We might end up merging the men’s and women’s together and streaming it to the

LONDON — Graduate Fashion Week was dominated by politics, in the tone of the collections on show and students’ statements.
The five-day event took place this year at East London’s Truman Brewery and showcased the work of students from more than 30 U.K. universities. It wrapped with a Gala Awards Show that highlighted the work of the top 25 students.
London’s latest terrorist attack, which saw eight people die, took place as the showcase was happening, as did the country’s national general election, which ended with a hung Parliament and a weakened Conservative prime minister.
At the start of the showcase, Mark Newton-Jones, the charity’s chairman, was defiant in the face of the terrorist attack. “This is exactly what we should be doing – carrying on with life,” he said.
Graduates voiced their views about the state of British society with slogans printed all over their garments. Lauren McArthur, a design student from the University of Creative Arts Rochester, printed phrases such as “I’m Lost” on girly, pastel-hued dresses, while Sarah Rafferty from Nottingham Trent University splashed words such as “Woe to the Rich” or “Money is Power” on oversized pinstripe suits for men.

THROUGH THE LENS: Photographer Nick Knight — or image-maker, as he prefers to define himself — has never been one to shy away from a challenge.
Since the beginning of his decades-long career, Knight has had a number of collaborations, from Yohji Yamamoto to Lady Gaga, and all of them proved to be “a way to get a sense of somebody’s head, to get inside a person’s mind. Collaboration is the joy in being able to see the light in someone else’s eyes.”
Yamamoto was his first important collaboration; Knight was 26 at the time and “completely endorsed his way of life.” The Showstudio founder recalled that time during a talk hosted last night by Sarabande, the London-based foundation named after Alexander McQueen’s 2007 spring collection which provides scholarships to students as well as housing artist studios at its headquarters for designers, artists and jewelers. Former Sarabande’s scholars include designers such as Molly Goddard and Liam Johnson.
For his first Patron event at Sarabande, Knight was in conversation with writer and creative consultant Mimma Viglezio, where he dished on his years of collaborating across the creative industries, how to discover new talents and Kim Kardashian’s highest merit.
“Gianni Versace asked me to work with him and I said no,” said Knight

Upon hearing the news from London, Grande reacted by sending prayers to those affected. Others, such as Liam Gallagher, Fifth Harmony, Luke Evans and more also responded with love and hopeful messages.

NEW YORK — Charles S. Cohen is expanding his men’s fashion portfolio.
The billionaire commercial real estate developer who purchased a majority stake in Savile Row tailor Richard James in March, has now bought Harrys of London. Terms of the deal for the U.K.-based footwear and accessories label were not disclosed. Harrys was acquired from Palladin Consumer Retail Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm that has owned a majority stake in the brand since 2014.
Following the playbook he established with Richard James, Cohen will assume the position of chairman of Harrys but will retain Steven Newey, Harry’s chief executive officer, to run the business on a day-to-day basis. At Richard James, Sean Dixon, cofounder and managing director, has remained with the label in that role.
“Harrys of London has been a brand I have supported and respected for a long time, bringing a unique mix of luxury, contemporary craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology and design,” Cohen said in an exclusive interview. “I am excited to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to partner with the brand and work closely with Steven and the rest of the team. We see huge potential for expansion across the U.S., London, Asia and the Middle East, and I am eager

LONDON — Bella Hadid’s popular line for Chrome Hearts is making its U.K. debut with an exclusive introduction at Selfridges.
To mark the launch the model joined longtime friend and musician Jesse Jo Stark and her mother Laurie, Chrome Hearts’ co-owner, at the British department store on Oxford Street.
“This is such a beautiful space and the [accessories department] is brand new, it’s a new entrance to the store so it’s perfect, not only for my collection, but for Chrome Hearts as a whole. It all comes together,” said Hadid, who has been a frequent Selfridges visitor as of late, having also launched her new Dior mascara campaign in the store two weeks ago.
Chrome Hearts has its own shops-in-shop in Selfridges’ new accessories department adjacent to Gucci, Valentino and Balenciaga. It features both the Chrome Hearts x Bella collection, which was created as a collaboration between Jesse Jo and Hadid, and the brand’s core jewelry, handbag and ready-to-wear ranges.
For her part, Laurie Stark said that she was drawn to the boldness of a big London launch. “From there, the whole world can follow,” she said, highlighting plans to continue expanding in markets such as L.A. and Tokyo.
Each launch will highlight new pieces in

PARTY WITH KARL: Karl Lagerfeld will cohost this year’s Serpentine summer party in London, alongside the Serpentine Galleries’ new chief executive officer Yana Peel and artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist.
The invitation to the party, which is taking place on June 28 at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, features a handwritten note by the designer: “The Summer Party 2017” in smudgy green watercolor crayon.
The Serpentine Gallery has always drawn leading figures of the fashion industry, with previous hosts including Tommy Hilfiger, Christopher Kane, Brioni and the late L’Wren Scott. It draws celebrity figures such as Kate Moss, Thandie Newton and David Furnish.
Each year the party takes place in and around a specially designed pavilion, which then remains open for a series of evening talks and events that are open to the public. The architect Diébédo Francis Kéré has been commissioned to design this year’s pavilion. His design promises to be bold and bring his characteristic sense of light and life to Kensington Gardens.
This is the first time the party will be hosted by Peel since her appointment as the gallery’s new ceo, taking over from Julia Peyton-Jones.
During a talk cohosted with Porter magazine at the gallery, she laid out her vision

THE WEALTH DIARIES: The 2017 Sunday Times of London Rich List is out, ranking British — and international — billionaires and millionaires whose wealth reflects the shape-shifting world economy over the past 12 months.
The 29th annual edition of the list includes Britain’s 1,000 richest people, and the compilers argue that many of the 134 billionaires were able to amass even more wealth from the “post-Brexit boom” last year, which fueled the stock market and pushed down the value of the pound. New money, they said, came mainly from the city of London, property and manufacturing.
“While many of us worried about the outcome of the EU referendum, many of Britain’s richest people just kept calm and carried on making billions,” said Robert Watts, who compiled the list.
A sidebar to the main story is the International Rich List, which is even more interesting than the British one. At number one is the Walton family, owners of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., whose net worth is estimated to be 100.6 billion pounds, or $ 136.82 billion; at number four is Inditex owner Amancio Ortega, with a fortune of 63.5 billion pounds, or $ 86.36 billion; while at number 12, there’s Bernard Arnault, whose net worth is calculated to be 35.2

ROYAL RACE: The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William joined Prince Harry to rally the runners participating at the London Marathon on Sunday.
All 40,000 runners taking part in the annual race were given Heads Together headbands to raise awareness about mental health, and many of them are raising money for the campaign.
Kate Middleton wore a black Heads Together jacket with black skinny jeans and sneakers.

The Duchess of Cambridge at the London Marathon.
Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock

The Duchess of Cambridge at the London Marathon.
MCKAY/EPA/REX/Shutterstock

The London Marathon begins at points in Greenwich Park, St. John’s Park and Shooter’s Hill. The route continues east then heads towards the City with Tower Bridge as the half-way mark. The runners will pass through Embankment then will complete the course at The Mall by Buckingham Palace.
The event is divided into categories with groups such as wheelchair participants, elite women and elite men, all with different start times. The mini-marathon, a three-mile race for young runners, begins first.
Heads Together is a mental health initiative spearheaded by the duchess, Prince William and Prince Harry. It aims to raise awareness around issues pertaining to mental illness.
The royal trio has been working hard to support the campaign. Last week the duke and duchess joined

IN WITH THE NEW: Up-and-coming men’s wear designer Daniel W. Fletcher has secured Liberty London as his first stockist in the U.K.
The young designer has partnered with Liberty on a three-week pop-up store, which aims to introduce Fletcher’s aesthetic to the Liberty customer and give the brand more visibility. The retailer will then go on to stock Fletcher’s fall range as part of its men’s wear department.
“I have been talking to Liberty for a while now but we waited until we could launch something properly. I didn’t want it to get lost on a rail at the back of a store. This is my first stockist in London, which is the home of the brand, so I wanted to mark that moment properly,” said the designer, adding that he was drawn to the retailer’s distinctly British identity, which is in line with the references to English heritage often used in his collections.
The young designer, known for his politically minded collections — his first show was staged as a flash protest against Brexit — has so far been sold at Opening Ceremony in the U.S. and on the brand’s own e-commerce platform. He said that he hopes the partnership with Liberty will expose

LADY IN RED: The Duchess of Cambridge wore Marchesa Notte to “42nd Street” musical in London on Tuesday evening.

The Duchess of Cambridge in Marchesa Notte.
SilverHub/REX/Shutterstock

She donned the red honeycomb textured tulle gown to the opening night of the show, which stars Sheena Easton at the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane in London’s Covent Garden. Produced by David Merrick and directed by Gower Champion, the West End play originally launched on Broadway in 1980. In 1984, it debuted at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, starring Catherine Zeta Jones.

The Duchess of Cambridge in Marchesa Notte.
SilverHub/REX/Shutterstock

The production is in support of the Nook Appeal, a hospice facility at East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, of which the duchess is a royal patron. The Nook Appeal is raising funds to extend its space in Quidenham, Norfolk. EACH supports families and children with life-threatening illnesses.
“The Nook Appeal will transform children’s palliative care across Norfolk,” said EACH chief executive officer Graham Butlandbut. “We still have some way to go, which is why we are so excited to be embarking on a relationship with the whole team at ’42nd Street.’ We hope that during the evening the audience will help us raise even more money to make our vision

LADY IN LACE: The Duchess of Cambridge donned a floor-length green lace Temperley London gown to the National Portrait Gallery Gala in London on Tuesday.

The Duchess of Cambridge in Temperley London
AP/REX/Shutterstock

A royal patron of the institution since 2012, she visited the gallery and viewed the latest exhibitions including Absent Friends, Claude Cahun, Howard Hodgkin and Gillian Wearing. She also saw two commissions specially made for the gala. One exhibit included ten masks designers by Vivienne Westwood and Philip Treacy while the other featured 100 postcards, which are a part of a mystery portrait postcard charity fundraiser sale. The duchess met with guests, donors and members of National Portrait Gallery.

The Duchess of Cambridge in Temperley London.
Nils Jorgensen/REX/Shutterstock

RELATED STORY: The Duchess of Cambridge Red Carpet Fashion: Every Look>>
This is the second gala for the Gallery that Kate Middleton has attended. This edition of the gala is focused on fund-raising for Coming Home — an initiative that aids the return of personalities’ portraits to various places such as a portrait of the Brontë sisters to Yorkshire or a portrait of Sir Walter Scott to Dorset.
Last week, she attended the launch of a series of mental health films by Best Beginnings, a charity that